Sunday, February 15, 2015

Trails and Treasures

I'm going to start calling it the farm truck.

The nice thing about a Honda Pioneer-4 is that it allows you to take 4 persons in the same footprint of a normal-sized 2 seater, rather than the bus-like dimensions of other 4 seat machines. The bad is that by using the cargo bed as seating, you quickly run out of places to cram stuff. I never thought I'd say this...but i need a bigger SxS!
My brother-in-law, his son, and myself decided to do a little metal detecting while out on the trail today. Even having one side of the bed to put stuff still didn't eliminate the need for cramming, but a cooler, a few bags, 2 folding chairs, and 2 metal detectors with shovels later, we were on our way.

A few years ago I had come across what looked to be 2 old home-sites in a remote and beautiful canyon area where I sometimes ride. Detecting them has been rolling around in the back of my head for a while...but today would see it finally marked off the list. After 45 minutes or so of passing old flagstone mines and horses, we were at our destination.

Nestled under some nice shade, we started nosing around. We aren't what you'd call serious detectors as you would be able to tell by our equipment...we do this mainly for the fun of getting out in the middle of nowhere for a while. And if we dig up lost treasure, so be it.

Right away my detector went off, and a few shovels later we were pulling out a rotted leather saddlebag filled with gold coins from a nearby train robbery that has remained unsolved for 120 years...
Sorry, my bad...It was a a rusty nail that just looked like a rotted saddlebag filled with gold coins...

And another nail...

And another...

Seems these old rock foundations belonged to the local hardware store or something.

ACE is the place...

I confess I really don't have the patience for this sort of thing. After 30 minutes of not digging up Billy the Kid's revolver, I tend to get bored and taper off. The rest of my party is a little more patient, so while they are still digging up nails and bolts, I "glass" what I thought looked like Indian ruins at a distance...but they weren't paying off either. Just a cool rock formation...

A short time later we move on to a second site down the canyon. Like the 1st, this seems to have been something at one time, but lots of camping by more recent inhabitants mean there is also lots of junk. But...it does turn up a few things that are worthless except for the historic aspect of the past. Part of an old door-knocker or maybe clasp of some sort, and an old can marked "Mac's 13", which judging from the few discernible words of the back, was some sort of radiator sealant. Ironically, most of the stuff we found here was simply laying around; No detector needed...

Today's "Treasure".

None the richer except for the experience, we ate our usual lunch of Spaghetti and meatballs with diet Mountain Dew. I could have napped quite well were it not for some persistent bee's.

After some relaxation, we moved on to a cool mini-Moab area nearby I refer to as the rock domes. Several hundred yards of solid slick-rock with a man-made tank holding stinky water for the local cattle.

Ho-hum...another beautiful 70 degree AZ winter day...

After nearly falling asleep again, we loaded up and headed for the Verde River at bear siding, which my B-I-L and his son have never seen...and wouldn't again due to a large number of people camping. Even in BFE, it can get crowded.
But I had a backup plan: A few months back I had taken an old railroad service trail down from Bear siding and found a decent can dump next to the tracks. Maybe I am putting more into it than I should, but the only reason I can see for it to be there is as a camp for the construction of the Railroad, circa 1901. My goal was to investigate it and maybe break out the detectors, but once there, it was obviously a lost cause due to the number of old can fragments lying around. I think in the future I will work on getting to know my detector a little better, so the difference between junk, coins and other valuables we be easier to realize. At that point we will re-visit this area.

But for now, we just broke out the chairs again and sat in the Junipers as the sun set. After trading tall tales into darkness, we loaded up and headed for home. No more wealth than before, but richer all the same.